Wednesday, May 21, 2014

The Space for Faith - Urban Planning and The Church

New Westminster’s Child and Youth strategy is a good first step in developing plans and policies to make the city
more inviting for families to live. Two
of the tenets the strategy identifies are Belonging and Inclusion. Historically, one of the key community
connection points for belonging and inclusion was the local church. As a bad Christian, I was curious to see how
the city had accounted for the needs of the local communities of faith in its
community and related plans.

Reviewing the official documentation finds
scant mention of churches, temples, or other houses of worship, despite a
healthy collection of them in the city.
Reviewing five community plans, the only real references I found to houses
of worship were in reflection of their heritage value for the downtown churches,
or in the context of South Asian ‘culture and diversity,’ as with the Sikh
Temple Sukhsagar in Queensborough. New
Westminster is not alone here, Vancouver did just the same in their West End plan.
Despite several vibrant, active churches in the west end, how those
churches and members fit in to the plan is not discussed.

Holy Trinity Cathedral - Parish Founded 1859

So how is that oversight going to play out
in the coming years? Looking at the
census data for New Westminster paints a picture that probably surprises no
one.

Religious Affiliation

Religion

1991

2001

2011

City Total Population

43,585

53,810

65,090

Buddhist

120

735

1,145

Christian

27,265

30,425

31,725

Hindu

195

505

995

Jewish

75

170

125

Muslim

355

1,355

2,430

Sikh

1,025

2,720

2,920

Aboriginal

N/A

N/A

45

Other religions

265

525

375

No religious affiliation

12,895

17,380

25,335

Total Religious

29,300

36,435

39,760

As of 2011, roughly 61% of city residents
are claiming a religious affiliation. It
strikes me as odd that the city planning documents generally ignore the
potential needs for some 60% of its population.
Particularly given that even as the proportion of religious residents
shrinks, due to a growing population the absolute number of religious residents
is still growing. Metro Vancouver growth
projections show New Westminster having ~102,000 people come 2041. If the current rate of religious affiliation
holds through then, then another 22,000 people will be looking for places to
worship and fellowship. Even if the rate
drops to 50%, that’s still 11,000 more adherents than today. Where
will they all go?

We have some idea from what has played out in the city and regionally in recent history.
The two most visible signs of this are the leasing of commercial spaces
by churches and the suburban style mega-church.
According to the zoning bylaws, churches are permitted in CM-1, or
Commercial/Industrial zones, or Institutional zones. However, we have examples such as Five Stones Church or the Redeemed Christian Church of God setting up in straight commercial spaces.

Five Stones Church in the heart of downtown New Westminster

Now there are some benefits to siting
churches in commercial zones – they could share parking with the nearby
businesses that don’t need it on weekends, it’s generally transit accessible,
it draws more people to the area in quieter times, etc. They churches can minister to people who
are working in the area. They’re closer
to many of the people in need that they should be serving. But it’s clearly not what’s intended by the
zoning laws as they stand. And shouldn’t
the city actively consider the benefits and costs and then manage it instead of
letting the chips fall haphazardly as they do now?

Being a developed, compact city, the
mega-church has not really come to New Westminster. Calvary Worship Centre at the foot of 12th
Street is probably the closest thing we have going to a "mega-church", and from
what I can tell they just took over an old Legion building, and being reasonably centrally located have fewer of the issues associated with mega-churches.

But large churches in other cities contribute to sprawl (you can argue if the zoning restrictions contributed to that too) and have a regional draw, taking local residents
out of town. I would rather have our residents attending
local churches helping local people deal with local issues that see everyone
scatter on Sunday.

Historical churches have additional
issues. Several churches in New
Westminster were built around the turn of the (previous) century. There weren’t as many cars around then, so
the churches were easily accessible for the folks living in the area. But over time, development has pushed homes
out from these churches. How do they
maintain accessibility to their adherents? Needs have changed, regulations have been strengthened - are these churches able to keep up to date and relevant while still complying with local bylaws?

Also absent in the 1900s were seismic
codes. Holy Trinity Cathedral has
started the process to develop some of its property,
the proceeds of which will be partially used to upgrade their cathedral to modern
standards. My church is amidst the same
process right now. How should the city
handle these kind of developments? Many
of these churches are on the historical building register – should the city be
providing more active support to maintain the heritage value of these
buildings?

As discussed at RethinkUrban,
churches hold geographically central locations, and as such are often in the
midst of the city’s social issues. Why
are they not being included as stakeholders in the urban planning? I don’t believe it’s ill will or malice – in every church-city interaction I’m aware of, the city has been
unfailingly helpful. I think it’s more that
communities of faith have failed to keep up with how development and planning engage with the community theses days, and make their voices heard. As the planning process has become more
conversational, we as people and communities of faith have failed to join in
that conversation.

One city that has tried to change this is
Calgary. After Calgary developed its
City Centre plan, a group of faith organizations recognized the issues
discussed here and took action. They
took inventory of the faith communities in the area. They studied the role those institutions play in the city.
They proposed discussion and changes to the city. This led to amendments to the City Centre plan last year. While most of the changes were simple
recognition of the roles faith organizations play, there is value in that recognition. It also brought in a
policy to recognize the role both faith and non-faith based institutions have
in promoting social stability and assisting community members in need.

New Westminster Councillor Jonathan Cote was gracious enough to speak with me about this, and what he said was encouraging.
One, the city is already involved with a number of churches in terms of
services for the homeless, new immigrants, and other people in need. Working with such groups is
already in the Official Community Plan, and the city intends to continue. This is a natural point of contact, as the
missional side of the church and the government both have similar goals in
protecting the vulnerable in our community.

Two, the city
tries to be accommodating when churches and temples come to the city with their
planning and development needs. The city recognizes that
many of the buildings were built a long time ago and do not suit current needs,
and is willing to work with the churches in terms of variances and zoning to
help them update their facilities to meet the needs of their
congregations.

Three, the city also sees the churches
working to partner up and more fully utilize the assets within the city, for
example having multiple services run by different organizations in the same church
building. I've seen signs of this on many churches in the city. Will this accommodate 10-20,000
more people? I don’t know, but it’s a
start.

Four, Cote recognized that in the overarching
planning, there may be some gaps in recognizing and accounting for the
spiritual needs of the city’s residents.
This is particularly the case given the significant growth in immigrant
populations which can bring very specific religious requirements with
them.

Finally, we spoke on how communities of
faith can make their voices heard. The Official Community Plan (OCP) is being
updated, and there are a number of ways to be involved. The update of the OCP is a great
opportunity for people of faith both as individuals and communities to provide
input to the city on how the government and communities should support each
other.

From the OCP website,

“The updated OCP will provide a renewed vision for New
Westminster, and the regulatory framework to guide growth toward that vision.The OCP will contain
policies on housing, parks & open space, arts & culture, heritage,
energy, utility services, transportation, well-being, hazards, economy and
environment.”Do faith and spiritual needs belong in
there? I believe they do and will be
saying so through the channels provided.
If we as communities of faith come together to present a common vision on this,
Councillor Cote also said there may be other opportunities for such a
group to be heard. I would encourage all
people of faith in New West, both as individuals and communities, to participate in
this process and let the city know how you believe faith should be shaping our
city.